This invention relates to a bulb peeling apparatus wherein incised grooves are formed on the outer peripheral surface skins of bulbs while rotating the bulbs and air is jetted onto the bulbs to peel off the surface skins.
Generally such bulbs as of onions or garlics are favored as cooking materials. However, when they are to be finely cut for concrete uses, their surfaces will have to be peeled off. In case a large volume is to be worked, the manual work will be positive but will be toilsome, the rise of costs will be inevitable and therefore a mechanical means will have to be naturally resorted to.
For the means of peeling off the surface skins of bulbs, it has been most effective to jet compressed air. In the peeling process in the apparatus provided with this means, such bulbs as, for example, of onions mounted and conveyed on a conveying part have compressed air jetted onto them to peel off the surface skins, are finely cut through a finely cutting step, further have jetted air applied to them to be peeled and are used as cooking material.
However, when compressed air is thus only blown without making incised grooves on the outer peripheral surface skins of the bulbs, there will be such defects as are in the following.
That is to say, in case compressed air is blown onto such bulbs as of onions to peel off the surface skins, unless the positions of the nozzles are at proper distances above the onion bulb side, the bulbs will not be positively peeled.
There is a prior art example wherein the above mentioned distances can be steppedly adjusted in response to the bulbs divided depending on the sizes. However, therein, in case a large volume is to be handled, it will be very difficult to set the nozzles in positions proper for peeling and the peeling apparatus will be low in the reliability.
Therefore, there is another prior art example wherein incisions or incised grooves are formed on the outer peripheral surface skins of onions with blades located on the periphery of a hole through which the onions are to be passed and then compressed air is blown onto them. However, in this prior art example, unless the sizes of the respective onions are well arranged, the onions will not be able to be peeled efficiently and the apparatus will not be adapted to treat a large volume.
Therefore, there is a prior art example disclosed in the Gazette of Japanese Utility Model Laid Open No. 104395/1981 wherein a large volume of onions can be peeled.
However, in the above mentioned prior art example, onions conveyed by a belt conveyer will contact usually on the root sides with the belt conveyer, therefore, after they are conveyed, in case incised grooves are to be formed with first and second rotary cutter devices, the respective onions will not rotate smoothly and the incised grooves will not be formed over the outer peripheries of the onions but will be formed only in the same places or locally on the onions. Therefore, the onions will not be positively peeled and the apparatus will be low in the reliability.
Further, there is a prior art example disclosed in the Gazette of Japanese Utility Model Laid Open No. 104396/1981 wherein grooves to contain onions are spirally provided on the peripheral surface of a cylindrical net and blades are arranged inside these grooves so as to form incised grooves with these blades. However, it is difficult to vary the heights of the blades for different thicknesses of the surface skins of the onions and the speed of peeling a large volume of onions can not be said to be sufficient.